If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Envista Holdings (NYSE:NVST) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Envista Holdings, this is the formula:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.066 = US$358m ÷ (US$6.6b - US$1.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

So, Envista Holdings has an ROCE of 6.6%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Medical Equipment industry average of 9.7%.

Check out our latest analysis for Envista Holdings

In the above chart we have measured Envista Holdings' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Envista Holdings here for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Envista Holdings Tell Us?

There hasn't been much to report for Envista Holdings' returns and its level of capital employed because both metrics have been steady for the past five years. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. So don't be surprised if Envista Holdings doesn't end up being a multi-bagger in a few years time.

The Bottom Line

In a nutshell, Envista Holdings has been trudging along with the same returns from the same amount of capital over the last five years. Unsurprisingly then, the total return to shareholders over the last three years has been flat. On the whole, we aren't too inspired by the underlying trends and we think there may be better chances of finding a multi-bagger elsewhere.

If you're still interested in Envista Holdings it's worth checking out our FREE intrinsic value approximation to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.

While Envista Holdings isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.